2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 18 - Libraries, Museums and Cultural Properties
Article 6 - Cultural Properties
Section 18-6-5 - Committee; powers and duties.

The primary function of the committee is to review proposals for the preservation of cultural properties. The committee is authorized to take such actions as are reasonable and consistent with law to identify cultural properties and to advise on the protection and preservation of those properties. Among such actions as may be necessary and proper to the fulfillment of these responsibilities, and without being limited hereby, the committee:

A. shall determine what constitutes historical, archaeological, scientific, architectural and other cultural significance for the purpose of identifying cultural properties as used in the Cultural Properties Act [18-6-1 through 18-6-17 NMSA 1978];

B. shall prepare and keep up to date the official register. This official register shall be composed of properties identified by the committee as having historical or other cultural significance and integrity, being suitable for preservation and having educational significance;

C. shall prepare and maintain proper documentation of the historic or other significance of cultural properties. The committee is granted access to all state and local public documents that may be necessary for the documentation, and such state and local agencies as have custody of such documents are authorized to allow the committee to examine and reproduce those documents useful for the documentation;

D. shall inspect all registered cultural properties periodically to assure proper cultural or historical integrity and proper maintenance. The inspection may be made by an authorized representative of the committee or historic preservation division of the office of cultural affairs. Such inspection shall be made only with the written consent of the owner or his authorized representative.

E. shall, based upon the inspection of a registered cultural property, recommend such repairs, maintenance and other measures as should be taken to maintain registered status;

F. shall issue regulations pertaining to the identification, preservation and maintenance of registered cultural properties in order to maintain the integrity of those properties;

G. may delete from the official register any registered cultural property whose owner does not comply with the committee's regulations or follow its recommendations for repair and maintenance, or which upon presentation of further evidence does not merit continued official registry;

H. may recommend to the museum division of the office of cultural affairs and other public administrators of registered cultural properties measures for the investigation, restoration and protection of such properties;

I. may encourage and render technical advice to private owners of registered cultural properties in order that such properties may be preserved;

J. may encourage and provide technical assistance to municipalities and counties in acquiring, preserving and developing cultural properties within their jurisdictions;

K. shall cooperate with federal, state, local and private agencies and persons engaged in the administration, development or other work relating to cultural properties within the state;

L. shall pursue all activities in a manner consistent with state and federal laws and regulations;

M. may encourage and promote public appreciation of New Mexico's historical and cultural heritage by:

(1) reviewing for accuracy the proposed publication of information on cultural properties; and

(2) reviewing the accuracy and adequacy of proposed marking of cultural properties;

N. may utilize the assistance of individuals, local organizations, state agencies and others interested in the identification and preservation of cultural properties;

O. may issue, with the concurrence of the state archaeologist and the state historic preservation officer, permits for the examination or excavation of sites and the collection or removal of objects of antiquity or general scientific interest, where such sites or objects are located on state lands, to institutions which the committee may deem to be properly qualified to conduct such examination, excavation or collection, subject to such rules and regulations as the committee may prescribe; provided that the examinations, excavations and collections are undertaken by reputable museums, universities, colleges or other historical, scientific or educational institutions or societies approved by the committee, with a view toward disseminating knowledge about cultural properties; and provided that a summary report of such investigations, containing relevant maps, documents, drawings and photographs be submitted to the committee which shall in turn submit the report to the appropriate agency or make other appropriate disposition of the report; and provided further, that all specimens so collected shall be the property of New Mexico, and that prior arrangements be made for the disposition of specimens derived from such investigations in an appropriate institution of the state or for loan of such specimens to qualified institutions in or out of the state;

P. shall provide advice to the state historic preservation officer in the historic preservation division and to the director of the museum division of the office of cultural affairs on cultural properties; and

Q. shall make, in conjunction with the historic preservation division, an annual report on its activities to the governor and the legislature. The report may contain recommendations for the more effective preservation of New Mexico's historic and cultural heritage.

History: 1953 Comp., § 4-27-8, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 223, § 5; 1977, ch. 246, § 35; 1978, ch. 92, § 1; 1980, ch. 151, § 34; 1983, ch. 296, § 17; 1986, ch. 10, § 2.

Cross references. — For credit for preservation of cultural property on individual state income tax return, see 7-2-18.2 NMSA 1978.

For credit for preservation of cultural property on corporate state income tax return, see 7-2A-8.6 NMSA 1978.

No limit on size of listed property. — The Cultural Properties Act (18-6-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.) does not set a limit as to how large a listed property can be. Rayellen Res., Inc. v. N.M. Cultural Props. Review Comm., 2014-NMSC-006.

Personal notice of the comment period is not required. — Personal notice of the public comment period for the cultural properties review committee's review of the listing of a property as a registered cultural property under the Cultural Properties Act (18-6-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.) is not required because the action of the committee in listing the property is not an adjudication of individual property rights, but a regulatory rule-making action to effectuate the committee's statutory powers to identify and preserve the state's cultural and historic heritage. Rayellen Res., Inc. v. N.M. Cultural Props. Review Comm., 2014-NMSC-006.

Designation of Mount Taylor as a registered cultural property was lawful. — Where Indian tribes filed a petition with the cultural properties review committee requesting that approximately 400,000 acres of public land on Mount Taylor be listed as a registered cultural property under the Cultural Properties Act (18-6-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.); the land consisted of federal land, state land, and Indian trust and pueblo land; private land was excluded from the listing; the committee published a general notice of the public comment period in two local newspapers, sent press releases to various print and broadcast media, published the nomination on the historic preservation division website, and sent personal notices to persons who expressed an interest in Mount Taylor's nomination and to property owners identified by petitioners' research of tax records in three counties; the committee did not send personal notices to owners of mineral estates; eighty percent of the property was owned by federal agencies and the state, both of which had inspection programs; the property made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of New Mexico history in association with persons significant in New Mexico's past and was integral to tribal community practices; the property's physical features that historically attracted various cultures had not changed; and after a public hearing, the committee permanently listed the property as a registered cultural property, the listing was lawful because the committee provided sufficient notice of the public comment period to satisfy due process guarantees and the listing conformed to statutory requirements regarding inspection, maintenance and integrity of place. Rayellen Res., Inc. v. N.M. Cultural Props. Review Comm., 2014-NMSC-006.

Land grant was not state land subject listing as a registered cultural property. — The cultural properties review committee erred when it included the Cebolleta land grant common lands in the listing of approximately 400,000 acres of land on Mount Taylor as a registered cultural property under the Cultural Properties Act (18-6-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.), because the Cebolleta land grant common lands were jointly held property by the heirs of the land gant and were not state lands for purposes of the act. Rayellen Res., Inc. v. N.M. Cultural Props. Review Comm., 2014-NMSC-006.

Listing did not violate protections against establishment of religion. — Where the cultural properties review committee approved the listing of property on Mount Taylor as a registered cultural property; petitioners claimed that the listing violated the constitutional protections against the establishment of religion, because the integrity criterion for the listing was satisfied by tribal communities' use of the property for performing pilgrimages and ceremonies; and the evidence established that the property was listed as a historical site to promote historical preservation, not to advance religion, the listing did not foster excessive governmental entanglement in religion, and the listing merely required interagency consultation on acts that might have an adverse effect on the historic site, the listing of the property did not violate the Establishment Clause. Rayellen Res., Inc. v. N.M. Cultural Props. Review Comm., 2014-NMSC-006.

Fort Selden state park. — Where federal money (or other appropriations dependent on such money) is not involved, the legislature intended that the park and recreation commission (now the state park and recreation division of the natural resources department) exercise primary control over the development and operation of Fort Selden state park, with the cultural properties review committee and state planning office (now, with the administrative division of the educational finance and cultural affairs department) offering advisory and consulting assistance. However, where the funds to be utilized are part of a national park service grant or state funds tied to such a grant, the plan is subject to approval by the committee. 1971 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 71-105.

Law reviews. — For note, "Cultural Properties Act — Turley v. State and the New Mexico Cultural Properties Act: A Matter of Interpretation", see 13 N.M.L. Rev. 737 (1983).